Downtown State College during November’s Light Up Night, photo credit Downtown State College

When it comes to special holiday season events, we all know about the tree lighting on Allen Street and First Night.

But what are the under the radar favorites that locals love to experience each year? We asked the Rediscover State College team to share some seasonal go-tos that are less hyped, but equally loved.

Here’s a peek into our email chain full of festive favorites!

Regina:

One of my favorite State College holiday traditions is Alpha Fire Company’s Christmas Eve Santa Run. The all-volunteer fire department brings Santa up and down the streets of the east and west sides of State College, stopping to pass out candy canes and Christmas wishes.

In the twelve years since I moved back, we have not missed it (except a few years that were canceled because of Covid/low temps—gotta keep Santa healthy!). We have my parents over, usually order take out (last year was amazing Szechuan Chinese from Yummy Cafe) and track Santa’s progress on the Norad GPS tracker.

Once they get close you can hear the sirens wailing and the horns honking—we all bundle up and run to the end of the driveway. Not gonna lie, it always brings tears to my eyes. No matter how old my boys are or what is going on in the world/our lives, it’s a moment of small town Christmas magic that I will always cherish!

Welcome to College Gardens at Christmas!

Brad:

We also love Santa on the firetruck! I’d say our favorite, under-the-radar tradition is picking one new ornament from College Gardens each year. They go all out transforming the store into a holiday wonderland and there is so much to look at. We probably stop in a couple times throughout the holidays, just because it’s so good at putting you in the holiday mood.

Other shoutouts include:

• The Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society’s train rides

• The Rivet Winter Market for gifts

• Christmas Light Show on the MLK Plaza downtown

• Seeing The Nutcracker at Eisenhower (I’ve not been yet, but it’s on my list!)

Matt:

I enjoy meeting friends visiting from out of town at a pleasantly uncrowded Zeno’s in the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Always super cozy!

Entrance to Mifflinburg’s annual Christkindl Market, photo credit Mifflinburg Heritage and Revitalization Association

Katie:

We’ve gone to the Mifflinburg Christkindl Market with our friends the past two years. There’s food and art vendors and it’s just fun to walk around, sip hot cider or mulled wine, eat chimney bread, and maybe buy a handcrafted trinket or two. It can get really crowded, so I highly recommend getting there early!

John:

Last year a friend of ours hosted a holiday cookie party at Good Intent Cidery. It was a nice way to spend some time with friends before the holidays turned into a mad dash of trying to get everybody’s gifts in order. We made a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie that my sister-in-law introduced me to. There were about 40 people there and it was actually featured in Town and Gownrecently!

Brad:

Thought of something else I wanted to share. Many local tree farms let you come early and tag a Christmas tree, so whenever you’re ready, you can go and get it and don’t have to worry that the best ones are already taken. So cool! At Tuckaway Tree Farm, they also have this fun contest where when you tag a tree, you can decorate it and the tree that wins Best Decorated gets a $50 gift card.

Maggie:

These are all so cute! A couple of things that come to mind…

• The annual Mosaic Penn State School of Music student concert showcase

• The Nutcracker featuring Centre Dance students at The State Theatre

• All the Christmas movies at The State Theatre (they have been rocking this programming lately)

• The 12 Days of Christmas Lights on Sparks Street

And a new tradition of ours is enjoying the holiday drink menu at Chumley’s!

Laura:

Seconding the 12 Days of Christmas display on Sparks Street! It’s such a feel-good moment seeing a whole street full of neighbors come together to put this on each year. And totally agree that the ornament display at College Gardens is next level.

Carolyne:

We started a new tradition a couple of years ago where we send our three kids downtown with cash to buy gifts for one another. The stipulation is that they have to head downtown TOGETHER (we live just a ten minute walk from downtown).  We encourage them to buy from local retailers as much as possible and we even include some bonus cash for them to choose a spot to get some warm drinks and snacks.

Last year, Will and Rose put their money together to buy an orchid Lego set from Growing Tree Toys for their oldest brother, Connor. Rose was given a sweet necklace from Connections Boutique and Will was excited about getting a t-shirt from his favorite place — IQ Skate Shop. They even came home with some presents for mom and dad! Socks from Appalachian Outdoors for dad and a poetry book from Squirrel and the Acorn for mom.

Thanks to the team for all of their holiday season insights! Whether you’re a current or future local, we hope to see you out enjoying a few of these along with us this year!